As De Witt Wallace lay in bed recovering from injuries that he unfortunately came by in World War I, he found there was a wealth of interesting information to read. Realizing few people would have the time to get through all this information, he knew exactly what to do. In 1920, this young American submitted a sample magazine containing shortened articles to publishers across America. However, all turned him down.

     Undeterred, De Witt and his new bride Lila Bell Acheson published the first issue of Reader’s Digest in February 1922. Working from home, the Wallaces printed 5,000 copies, which were sold by mail to 1,500 people and priced at 25 cents. From these humble beginnings grew the world’s most widely–read magazine.

     The magazine became popular and, by 1935, sales topped one million. In 1938, the first international edition was published in the United Kingdom. During World War Ⅱ, editions were published for the first time in Latin America and Sweden. After the war Reader’s Digest moved into Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland. In 1950, Reader’s Digest published its shortened Books (now known as Select Editions in Australia). In 1959, music, the first non–print product line, was introduced. In 1962, Reader’s Digest revolutionized direct mail by introducing easy–to–enter Sweepstakes and a year later the first Reader’s Digest general book was published. In 1986, video was added to the Reader’s Digest product line.

   In 1973, the Wallaces gave up active management of Reader’s Digest. De Witt died in 1981, aged 91; Lila in 1984, aged 94. With no heirs(继承人) to the Wallace empire to take control, Reader’s Digest became a public company in the early 1990s and is now headed by a Chief Executive Office and Chairman of the Board.

What is the purpose of De Witt Wallace creating the earliest magazine?

       A．To become wealthy.            B．To offer people information.

       C．To heal the wounds from the war.   D. To turn down uninteresting stories.

When did De Will make his first trial of the magazine?

       A．Before World War I.   B．In 1920.   C．In 1922.   D．In 1935.

What is mainly talked about in the first two paragraphs?

       A．The first issue of Reader’s Digest.

       B．The first trial of De Witt Wallace’s dream.

       C．De Witt Wallace’s character and marriage.

       D．The humble beginnings of Reader’s Digest.

Which of the following is the right order for the history of Reader’s Digest?

     a．The Select Edition came out.

       b．The Wallaces retired from the management of Reader’s Digest.

       c．The magazine sold over million copies.

       d．The product line was improved by means of videos.

       e．Editions in other languages were published.

       A．c — e — a — b — d                    B．e — a — c — b — d

       C．c — e — a — d — b                    D．a — c — e — d — b

What can be known about Reader’s Digest from the passage?

       A．Reader’s Digest only published shortened or general books.

       B．After World War ⅡReader’s Digest was published all over the world.

       C．Reader’s Digest was first private–owned and later public–owned.

       D．Reader’s Digest has always been headed by a Chief Executive Office

OSLO — Excited with pride, Norwegians sang in the streets of Oslo on Sunday, celebrating Norway’s National Day and the country’s Eurovision Song Contest victory.

   Hundreds of Norwegians sang along to Alexander Rybak’s winning song Fairytale as they walked in the country’s traditional National Day parade (游行) celebrating the Norwegian constitution.

   Alexander Rybak — called “Alexander the Great” by the Norwegian media — won a great victory in the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) by gaining the most votes in its 53-year history in Moscow on Saturday.

   Alexander has played violin and piano since he was five years old, and he also composes his own music and sings. In 2006 he won the Norwegian talent show Kjempesjansen with his own song Foolin. Alexander has performed with one of the world’s most celebrated violinists, Pinchas Zukerman, won the Anders Jahres Culture Price and has been the concertmaster for Norway’s largest symphony orchestra (交响乐队) for youths, Ung Symfoni.

   Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said there was clearly something special about the 23-year-old and his folk music. “This is a phenomenal performance by a young and talented musician,” Stoltenberg said in a statement.

   Rybak is expected to draw a large crowd of fans to Oslo’s Gardermoen airport when he arrives next Sunday, after having invited all his countrymen from the stage in Moscow.

   With Rybak’s win, Norway will host next year’s Eurovision finals, a show that reaches a television audience of over 100 million people. Norway’s Minister of Culture, Trond Giske, promised that Norway would put on a splendid show next year but without spending as much as Moscow, which spent 24 million euros this year. “I don’t think that is necessary,” he told national broadcaster NRK.

   The win was Norway’s third. The Nordic country also won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1985 and 1995.

What do Norwegians usually do on the country’s National Day?

   A. Sing Fairytale.   B. Have a parade.  C. Hold a song test.  D. Watch the ESC. 

Which of the following statements about Rybak is TRUE?

   A. He has a lot of fans all over the world.

   B. He is the first Norwegian to win the ESC.

   C. He is called “Alexander the Great” when he was born.

   D. He showed a great talent for music before this ESC.

The underlined word “phenomenal” in Para. 5 means “____”.

    A. very unusual and impressive    B. too special to be understood

   C. with an educational purpose     D. able to draw a large audience

What’s Trond Giske’s opinion?

    A. Norway will host next year’s Eurovision finals.

    B. It doesn’t require too much money to win the finals.

    C. Norway is determined to win next year’s Eurovision finals.

    D. It doesn’t require a lot of money to make the finals splendid.

The main idea of the text is that ______________________________.

  A. the Eurovision Song Contest belongs to the world

  B. National Day is being celebrated in Norway

  C. Crazy fans expect to meet their idol at the airport in Norway

  D. Norway celebrates a Eurovision win on National Day.

These dictionaries ______ the library again by you.

   A. will be taken out of                                 B. will take out of 

   C. won’t taken out or                                  D. won’t be taken out of

There is something wrong with my computer. It needs _____.

A. repairing        B. to repair   C. repaired                 D. be repaired

Mr White works in an office. He liked reading in bed when he was at school. It was bad for his     41   and now he has near sight (近视). But he wouldn’t want    42   to know about it and he never wears a pair of glasses. It often    43    him some trouble.

One winter morning he was sent to a village school on business. He    44    a bus at a stop in a small town. Then he had to walk there. The road to the village wasn’t smooth(平坦). He fell over some times and it     45    his clothes dirty.     46    he got to the village. Suddenly it began to blow and it got colder. He was looking for the school while his    47    was blown off. He began to run after it but he couldn’t get it. He couldn’t understand why his hat ran into a house as if(似乎) it had    48   . And he ran into the house，   49    .

A woman stopped him and shouted angrily, “   50     are you running after my hen for？”

How much time did you spend ________ a bargain?    

– Your schoolbag is very nice.

-- __________.

A. Sorry          B. OK               C. Thank you.    D. No, it is.

There was such a long queue for coffee at the interval that we _____gave up.

A. eventually        B. unfortunately    C. generously    D. purposefully

All the viewers were deeply touched by Jay Zhou’s performance ________ they attended his concert.

   A. the first time                     B. for the first time              C. at the first time            D. at first

A great many people are disappointed because of unrealistic expectations.

Walking up to a department store’s  1   counter, an attractive young woman said, “I want to buy this material for a new dress. How much does it cost?”

“Only one  2   per yard,” replied the smirking (自鸣得意的) male clerk.

Not to be taken back by the funny words, the woman said, “That’s fine! I’ll take ten yards.”

With  3  written all over his face, the clerk hurriedly  4  out and wrapped the cloth, and then held it out teasingly, leaning forward to receive his “   5   ”.

The woman got the package quickly from the clerk and pointed to a little old  6  standing beside her. “Grandpa will pay the bill instead of me,” she  7 .

He was no doubt disappointed. But in the course of living, many people are  8 when others do not  9  their expectations. In order to be happy, some expectations must be dropped. These three particular  10  and unhealthy expectations are some of the main causes:

       1. Expect too much  11 .When others say, “Thank you,” or in any way to show their gratitude, be happy. It is a gift!

       2. Expect others to make you happy. They simply cannot do that. Make yourself happy and  12   your joy with others.

       3. Expect not to be  13 . At times, people will simply not come through for you in the way you need.  14   them and move on.

Get rid of these three unrealistic expectations and you can begin to expect more  15   right away!